


The Kid in the Snow

by frostedbaozi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Gen, Other, because adulting is hard, kid minseok, self help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 07:05:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7674832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostedbaozi/pseuds/frostedbaozi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you're too afraid of the unknown, are you ready for an unexpected help?</p><p>(or when Xiu found himself helping himself)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kid in the Snow

Xiumin woke up in an entirely different world with a kid beside him. He stood up gently to keep the kid from waking up. He wandered around and found out that everywhere was nothing but snow. He wasn’t really bothered by the cold as he’s used to it. He turned back when he heard a small voice.

“Hey.”

Xiumin walked back and knelt in front of the boy. “Who are you and where are we?”

The boy rubbed his eyes and smiled, “I am who I am. And we’re where we ought to be.”

Xiumin examined the boy. He looks familiar, with his sharp eyes, plump cheeks and white hair. He had seen him somewhere. He just couldn’t exactly remember where.

“Hey kid. I don’t know how I got here and you’re creeping me out with your riddles.”

The kid offered his hand to Xiumin, “Come, I’ll show you.”

He felt a familiar warmth upon holding the kid’s hand that sent comfort to his wholeness. He kept wondering who’s the kid and how did he end up there.

The kid stopped before a lamp post with a flickering light. “Look at that lamp and tell me what you feel.”

Xiumin looked up. The lamp post was nothing but ordinary. “I don’t feel anything.”

“I see,” the kid said and snapped with his thumb and middle finger. The flickering of the light stopped. A wooden bench then appeared beside the lamp. Behind it, a large oak tree surfaced. Xiumin looked down and saw that the snow-covered point he was standing was now a brick road. He turned around and saw a house across the road. He felt shivers on his spine. He knew exactly where he was.

“How did… how did you do that?”

The kid looked up at him and smiled, “Now, what do you feel?”

He couldn’t put into words the overwhelming rush of familiar feelings and memories. He tried to step forward but he couldn’t. “Why can’t I move?”

“Because you are only allowed to look back, not to tamper with the things that belonged to the past.”

Xiumin focused on the house. It was where he grew up. It was where he was happiest. It was where he felt most complete.  

In an instant, everything disappeared. Xiumin gasped, “What happened?”

“I had to turn it away. It was consuming you more than it had to.”

The kid was right. In that short period of past, he felt himself drifting away with the memories that have rushed to him. He had to get hold of himself. He’s not from there anymore. And he felt a familiar tug in his consciousness.

“You… You are…”

“Yes.” The kid confirmed his conclusion. “I was afraid you’ll forget me. It’s everybody’s fear actually.”

“Almost. It’s crazy out there. I mean the adult world. It scares the shit out of me.”

The kid nodded. “I know. I can see it everyday.”

 Xiumin continued, “I was so afraid to be myself, that being me would only result to mistakes.”

“It’s not wrong to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. You’re still growing up so you’re still learning. You’re so afraid with what might happen. You’re scared that you’ll mess up your future.” The kid asked him to kneel before him and looked him in the eyes.

“But the future cares nothing about you. When you were a kid, you were a free spirit. You don’t care about tomorrow. You only live for the day.”

“And I was happy being me.”

The kid smiled at him, “I know you need some waking up. I hope I helped.”

Xiumin wrapped himself around the kid. The moment he opened his eyes, he was back in his unit. He stood up and walked over his dresser. From the stash of memories, he put out an old picture of him in a penguin costume. The kid in the snow.

He smiled at it.


End file.
